Baby Steps Features One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've faced some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments led me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I considered my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is focused on the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Taking on The Challenge could be a moment where he can show that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified struggling just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they reject navigation help, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid anytime you encounter an easy option. The environment includes planned obstacles that change a secure way into a setback instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path leads to a real situation of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he trips. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

During my game, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call